What's eating him?
by Time Traverser
Summary: America is acting weird. He's being really quiet and is dodging everyone's questions. Canada seems to know what's going on. But refuses to tell anyone. My first story so please bear with me! No romance or YAOI.
1. Chapter 1

It was an especially hot day in New Mexico. The World Meeting was being held in the middle of nowhere. The building was across the street from a really creepy abandoned outpost/ gas station. America had explained that this area was built before the interstates were made, so nobody lived around there anymore.

The World Meeting was calmer than usual since neither China or Italy were there. America was being unusually quiet today and it put everyone on edge to see him that way. He wasn't even laughing like an idiot claiming he was a hero like he usually did. Germany, who was also a bit put off, called for lunch, much to the relief of everyone there.

"America!"

"Ah! Dude don't scare me like that!" yelled a startled blue eyed, blonde haired man.

"America, why do we have to host the world meeting _here _of all places?" asked an annoyed England.

America pushed up his glasses, "Cuz my boss said so. I don't like it anymore than you do."

"Why?" asked England confused, "It's your bloody country."

"Yes, why is Amerique so unhappy about ze choice in location?" asked France who has been listening in on the conversation until now.

"Ummm well," started America uncomfortably.

He was interrupted by a loud _ding_ in the kitchen area.

"Oh! My burger is ready! 'Scuze me!" exclaimed America, obviously relieved.

"You didn't answer my ques-" started England, but he was already gone.

"Amerique just dodged our question. I wonder what is wrong with him?" wondered France aloud, "Maybe we could ask Canada?"

"Who?"

"His twin frere."

"America has a brother?!" asked England, thoroughly surprised.

"Angleterre you are hopeless."

* * *

When they went to ask Canada, all they got were more questions.

"America is acting strange? I'm not all that surprised." he said cryptically.

"Why is he being like zis?" inquired France.

"You seem to know the answer." England said, "So tell us!"

But Canada refused to say anything more.

"Well that was no help." grumbled England.

"Zere is nothing we can do but wait and see." said France.

* * *

After lunch the World Meeting continued.

Germany was at the front, talking about some issue or another. Russia was making France uncomfortable, while Japan was politely listening to Prussia talk about how awesome he was. Canada was listining to Germany, while America was staring intently out the window for some reason, almost like he was watching for something.

England watched him curiously, thinking on what Canada had said earlier. He decided now was a perfect time to get an answer to his question.

"While the economy in- yes England?"

England stood up from his chair. " I think we would all like to know why America is acting strange today."

Now everyone in the room was paying attention. Russia also stood up.

"Da. I have also been curious of this. Would you care to explain Amerika?"

America looked like a deer caught in headlights. He stammered,"Uh-h what are you talking about? I-I'm not being weird. Hahaha..."

Nobody was buying it. Japan looked on, sensing the mood and refraining from speaking as usual. Canada watched the scene impassively, to see if America would tell them. Germany eyed America. "Explain yourself please."

He seemed to be thinking about it, and then America came to a decision.

He got up from his chair. He looked at each of the nations in turn. Took a deep breath and said,"The reason tha-"

"AHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" came a hauntingly unearthly scream from what seemed to come from nowhere.

America blanched and Canada shot up from his chair. More screams were heard. Some closer than others. Then the lights shut off.


	2. Chapter 2

"So not awesome!"

America! What is the meaning of this!

"Kolkolkolkolkol..."

"America-san, you need lightbulbs."

"Get off me bloody frog!"

"I am not on you!"

"Prussia! Get the window open! Let some light in!"

The room was flooded with the light of the evening sun. Prussia was standing by the window, holding the string used to pull the blinds open. Japan was still in his chair, while England was on the ground with Russia sitting on top of him. Germany was also on the ground, having been accidentally tripped by France who had been trying to reach the door.

But both America and Canada were gone.

"Where did mon petite Mattieu go?" asked France who was now distraught with worry.

"What happened to America?" asked England who would not admit that he was equally worried.

"Maybe it has something to do with what Amerika did not tell us." said Russia to nobody in particular.

Prussia pointed out the window,"Or maybe it has something to do with _that."_

Outside, was the strangest group of people these nations had ever seen. Some had clothing that seemed to be made of some kind of animal skins, while others wore no clothing at all. Some of them had beads or feathers in their hair. But the one thing that they all had in common, were the spears they held, glinting evilly in the sunlight.

"Who are they?" asked Japan as he watched in grim fascination.

"I'll bet America and Canada knew." said England darkly.

"We cannot say what they knew or did not know at this time." said Germany.

"But we do know those people are very dangerous. Da?" said Russia as he points out the afore mentioned spears.

"Well no duh." stated Prussia matter of factly.

"Perhaps zey are still in the building?" asked France.

"It could not hurt to check." said Japan.

"Alright then. We will go in groups of two and search the place. Russia and Japan will go to the top floor, while England and Prussia will go to the basement. France, you will go down to the first floor and look for an alternate exit past those people. I will search here on the second floor. Everyone see what you can find, and then rendezvous here.

* * *

Russia and Japan POV

"Maybe they are in here?" wondered Japan aloud.

"If they are, then I will hit them with my pipe." said Russia cheerfully.

The place in question, was the one place America never let anyone else enter no matter what meeting hall they were using. The storage room.

The door opened with a loud creaking sound. As if it hadn't been opened for a long time. There was no light inside, although they could tell that it was a very large room. Crates and boxes were strewn about. Making it seem like a labyrinth. Some of the boxes had open lids, and Japan could see things like old weapons and uniforms.

"Amerika," said Russia in a sing-song voice, "my pipe and I would like to have a discussion with you!"

"Canada-san? Are you in here?" called Japan.

But there was no answer. The cobwebs stirred a bit in the draft.

"Japan, come look at this," said Russia, pointing at a box.

Japan walked over and peered into the box. It had a very old painting in it. It showed America, in an outfit similar to those of the people outside, except with a staff looking thing instead of a spear. Canada was also in the picture. He was on a horse looking at something in the distance. Both had serious expressions on their faces.

"When do you estimate this was done?" asked Japan.

"I cannot be sure, there is no date on it." Russia responded.

"Maybe it has something to do with those strange people." mused Japan.

Russia had a curious expression on his face, "...Maybe."

* * *

**AHAHAHAHA! I managed to squeeze another chapter out of this! I shall continue but updates will probably be irregular because French class is way harder than it should be.**

**ALSO! I am working on a hetalia fangame that has a similar story line. Similar, but not the same. This story focuses on one theme, while the game will have multiple themes.**

**Thank you for all the reviews, follows, and such! I didn't think this story would get much attention!**

**Have a nice day!**


	3. Chapter 3

England and Prussia POV

"Hmmm. It's locked. Let's fix that shall we?"

"BANG!" Went the door as Prussia gleefully kicked it down.

"Now was that really necessary?" scolded England, "The key was hanging on a hook right _there_!"

"I know. I just enjoy kicking down doors. Who doesn't?" Prussia responded.

"Oh whatever. You go first then since you are apparently so eager to get into to the basement." said England.

Prussia looked into the basement. He couldn't even make out any distinct shapes because it had no light.

"It looks really dark in there...,"mumbled Prussia to himself. He turned to England, "Your just scared of going in first!"

England spluttered indignantly,"W-what! I am not!"

Prussia put on a smug face, "It's okay England. I don't think any less of you."

England looked insulted and said, "I am not afraid and I'll prove it to you!"

He marched forward and promptly fell down the flight of stairs that he was not aware existed. You could hear him falling down what must have at least been thirty steps before landing with a loud, "THUD!"

Prussia was laughing so hard that he had to support himself on the wall. "Kesekesekese! I can't _believe_ that your luck is that bad!" he managed to gasp.

"Oh, belt up will you?" England said from below, "Hurry up and get down here. I think this room is much bigger than we previously thought."

Prussia carefully made his way down the stairs. "Is there a light switch?...Aha! Here it is!" He flipped it, but nothing happened. Prussia did this a couple times before giving up on it. "Great. Now what?"

"Not a problem." said England.

The room was suddenly illuminated by a shining light on the end of what appeared to be a stick England was holding.

"Hey, cool stick. Where'd you get it?" inquired Prussia.

England looked thoroughly annoyed now, "It's. A. Wand."

"Wand? What happened to the toy fairy wand you were entertaining yourself with?" asked Prussia.

"Hey, that one was real too! But... I snapped it by accidentally sitting on it." said England sadly.

"You really do have the worst luck."

* * *

Further search of the basement yielded few results. Prussia _did_ find a long sword though. Which he decided to keep much to England's dismay.

"It'll come in handy!"

"Have you ever heard the term, 'Bringing a knife to a gun fight?'"

"But this is a _sword_! Just the idea of having a sword is nearly as awesome as me!"

"Whatever."

They were about to give up, but then England spotted something.

"Oh? What's this?" exclaimed England.

Prussia popped his head out of a large box he was rummaging through,"Uhhh...It's a _door_ Mr. Holmes. Are you familiar with the term?" He said dryly.

"Yes I have seen a door before for your information!" retorted England, "But it's been used recently."

"How can you tell?"

England looked at him like he was an idiot, "The doorknob isn't covered in dust."

"Oh. Well... I knew that. I was just testing you." stated Prussia.

"Right. And I'm Saint Nicholas." said England.

"England if you were Santa Claus, he wouldn't have the reputation of being jolly."

"We're not getting anything done! Let's just open the door. Prepare yourself." England ordered.

The door opened easily on it's hinges to reveal a walk-in closet. It had a barred door that was probably locked before. But now it looked as if Wolverine had broken in and ransacked the tiny cell. The ruins of a pedestal were evident, and a small chest lay to the side, broken open by something of immense strength.

"Wonder what was in it?" pondered Prussia aloud.

"Perhaps this could shed some light on the subject." said England as he picked up a torn piece of animal hide.

"Where did that come from?" asked Prussia.

"Looks like it came from a piece of clothing. Possibly off one of the people prowling about outside." stated England.

"The thought that they can get in disturbs me." Prussia said.

"Same here. Well, I think we've found all that we can here. Let's go back to the meeting room."

* * *

**Yeah, I know. These chapters are short. I'm trying to remedy that, but for now they will stay this way.**

**So, ya'll know the drill. Thanks for reading, please review.**


	4. Chapter 4

France POV

"Hmmm. Zis' will never do."

France tried the window once more to be sure. It wouldn't budge.

'Now why would ze window be nailed shut like zis'?'

The window was indeed, hastily nailed shut. It didn't look like the nails would even come out with a claw hammer.

'Not zat we have one available.'

France decided to keep looking. He passed the front door and looked out. The strange people were still out there. Then one noticed him and alerted the others. They worked themselves into a frenzy at the sight of France, who could not resist making ridiculous faces at them.

"Ohonohon! You are out there and I am in here! Come at me if you can you filthy losers!"

This ridiculousness continued for several minutes until France finally grew bored.

"You no longer entertain moi. Au revoir!"

France went down another corridor, looking for an exit. He found more windows that were nailed shut.

'Dis is verging on tres stupide.'

He kept going. He never before realized that America's meeting halls were so large.

'We only ever use de kitchen, meeting hall, and guest bedrooms anyway. We shouldn't need any others!'

France started opening doors. Most looked empty, others were the afore mentioned guest rooms. He even ran into a sizable library once.

'Amerique can read?!'

France continued and found a set of large oaken double doors. He regarded them curiously.

'Probably not an exit, but possibly a break from this monotone job.'

Through much grunting and pushing, France managed to get the doors open. This revealed a very large room complete with a grand king sized bed, state of the art entertainment system, wood panelling, and a chandelier. _A freaking chandelier!_

"Does Amerique have a room like this in _all_ his meeting halls?!"_  
_

Although it was a luxurious room, it had nothing that could be used as escape. The windows in this room were all barred from both the outside and the inside.

'What would make Amerique go that far with his security?'

France then made his exit and went down yet another corridor, finding nothing else of note. He turned another corner and found a back door.

'Could dis provide escape?'

Apparently not. For it was also fastened closed. Not with nails or bars though, but with super glue.

'I honestly don't think I _will_ find an exit here.'

Just as France turned his back on the door. The light in the hall seemed to darken. He heard wheezing and gasping sound somewhere near him. He whipped his head around, trying to find the source of such a horrid noise, and he found it.

It was a ghastly corpse looking figure. It looked as if it was being eaten away by sand, along with having remnants of clothing in a few places. It looked at France with black holes where it's eyes used to be and whispered in a rasping voice, "Kill me."

"Non! I am to young and beautiful to die!" screamed France. He started to flee in the direction of the stairs leading up to the second floor. The thing gave chase. It had a loping gait, but it was really fast. France turned a corner and caught view of the stairs. "Oui! I am saved!" But alas he was not saved yet. Another glance over his shoulder showed the thing was gaining on him. France kept running. Down the hallway and up the stairs he went. But France tripped on the fifth step. He felt the thing latch on to his ankle. It's grip was very strong for something that had the appearance of disintegrating. France kicked it in it's half-a-face and felt it's grip loosen. He took his chance and tore himself away from it and continued climbing the stairs. France reached the top and turned to see it was pursuing, but instead witnessed it crumble and blow away like sand.

"What was that?!" France exclaimed. He stood for a moment catching his breath. "The danger is past now. I must go back to the meeting hall.

* * *

**I am way too mean to France I think. Any french words he may have uttered were put there by me, not google translate. It was just anything I could remember from my studies, and that I thought would fit so... yeah.**

**I might even put another chapter up today! I really have nothing else to do.**


	5. Chapter 5

Germany POV

Germany looked into the last cupboard of the kitchen and found a bottle of maple syrup.

'Nothing here either. Then again the kitchen is probably the least likely to yield results.'

He opened the fridge and found an uneaten burger, 'But I must be thorough for everyone's sake.'

Germany moved on to the next room. Which turned out to be a small room with wood floors and a stand up piano in the corner. He looked in the bench and found old ragtime sheets. 'Ragtime. The only music Austria _won't_ play.' he thought to himself, 'I think America owes everyone an apology for the invention of such a thing. I'll bring it up in the next meeting.'

This room didn't have much else in it, besides an old stool. Everything had a thick layer of dust on it. Germany moved into the adjoining room. This room was even smaller and completely bare except for a broom closet that was opened to reveal-what else?-cleaning supplies. But Germany noticed something different. The closet had a false back. He tried to open it with the latch, but it was stuck on something.

'It won't budge. Should I get Russia to break it open?' Germany wondered. He quickly dispelled this thought though, 'We don't want to compromise the contents...whatever they are.'

Through about fifteen minutes of fiddling with the damn thing, he finally got it open. It revealed an old bow and a quiver of arrows, and spear sitting in the corner. Further investigation showed two folded animal skin outfits, and a small sack of what appeared to be multicolored marbles glowing with a strange fiery light.

'What is the meaning of all this st-' his line of thought was interrupted by the sound of the door opening.

Germany jumped a bit, "Show yourself!"

Japan walked in, followed by Russia. "Sorry Germany-san. You were not in the meeting room when we got back so we went looking for you," said Japan.

"No need to apologize. I was just startled. This place is rather foreboding, and I think it might be getting to me."Germany responded.

Japan looked over Germany's shoulder,"You found something rather interesting too I see."

"Yes I did and- Russia what are you doing?" Germany watched as Russia knelt down and picked up one of the outfits in the closet.

"This is the outfit that Canada was wearing in the painting we found," Russia stated.

"Painting?" Germany asked.

"We'll explain when everyone is in the meeting room." Japan responded.

Germany gathered up the things in the closet, "Alright. Let's take these things with us. They could answer our questions later."

* * *

General POV

"Okay, where's France?" asked an impatient Prussia, "I want some answers!"

"As much as I hate to say it, we have to wait for the Frog. We can't have anyone not knowing something, it would just cause more confusion." england responded.

"Isn't there some way you can entertain yourself?" Japan inquired.

"No. I usually talk to-" he was interrupted by the a banging on the door.

"Let me in s'il te plait! I want to live!"

"Oh. There he is." Prussia continued.

"AHHHH! Hurry up they are GOING TO KILL ME!"

"He sounds rather distraught..." Japan mumbled.

"I'm not in any hurry to save the frog." England stated.

Germany sighed, "Russia could you please open the door?"

Russia walked over and opened the door.

"Oh, Merci Beacoup! I am alive!"

Germany tried to sooth him,"Calm down France, now what's wrong?"

France collected himself, "There was something down there... i-it had a terrible grip and...and it almost caught me!"

"What was it?" Prussia asked.

"I don't really know. I t was unlike anything I had ever seen before!"

England said,"Well you're here now, and the monster evidently didn't follow you here. So please tell us. Did you find anything?"

France sat down, "All the windows were nailed shut, and the backdoor had been glued closed. America's room had bars on the windows."

"Alright then. England, what did you and Prussia find?" asked Germany.

"We found a cell in the basement that was completely trashed." Prussia reported.

"We also found this piece of animal hide. We think that one of the people outside somehow got in and ransacked the place, stealing it's contents."

"Any clue as to what those contents were?" Germany inquired.

"Well we also found what used to be a pedestal, and a small broken chest."

"Good work you two. What about you Japan? Did you and Russia find anything?" Germany asked.

"Well, we found a very old painting that showed America and Canada in outfits similar to those of the people outside."

"They were much younger I assume?" England asked confused.

Japan looked at him surprised, "Well no. They both seemed to be about the same age as they are now. What makes you think they were young?"

"When I found America, he was very young, so wouldn't he have to be younger for the painting to be that old?"

"Well we don't know about that, the painting _was_ extremely old and definitely authentic." Russia put in.

"We'll just have to ask them when we find them." Germany said, "Anyway, I found something that might be of interest to everyone." He brought out the items he had found.

"Where were these?" asked Prussia.

"In a secret alcove in a broom closet." responded Germany.

"Doesn't this spear look familiar to any of you?" France asked.

"It looks like the ones of the people outside." pointed out Russia.

England suddenly perked up,"Can I see those marbles?"

"I don't see why not."

Germany gave the small sack to England.

England picked a yellow marble out of the sack and gasped, "These are magic!"

Japan looked at him like he was crazy,"Did I hear you correctly?"

"Yes, they're magic!" England repeated.

He was getting strange looks from everyone now. "He needs help..." someone whispered.

But Prussia seemed to believe him, "He's probably right."

"Oh bruder not you too!" Germany moaned more to himself than anyone else.

Prussia gave Germany a sidelong glance, "England, prove it to them."

England threw down the marble. It exploded in a odorless yellow smoke, which quickly became a highly concentrated mini dust devil.

'Hmmm...weather magic.' England thought.

The dust devil went to France who was immediately picked up from his chair,"Oh!" and thrown to the other end of the room, "Ouch!"

"Anglettere you wound me so! Whatever did I do to you?!"

"You were unified."

Prussia interrupted the brawl he knew was coming, "Okay! So, now that that's taken care of, all thats left is two things. How do we get out of here, and where are the North American brothers?"

Russia looked up and said, "We will fight our way out the front door, Da?"

Japan put in, "We don't have much of a choice. The front doors are the only option."

Germany got up and walked toward the window, "Yes and when we get out we will go to our cars and...," Germany looked out toward the parking lot, "actually, we won't go to our cars. They've completely destroyed them."

There was a collective, "WHAT?!" as the nations crowded to the windows.

"No! That was a rental!"

"Kolkolkol...they will pay for that, Da?"

"How did they even manage that?!"

"What now?"

Germany called everyone to attention, "Quiet! It's already been done! There's nothing we can do about it now. The new plan is to go to that gas station across the street to see if there is a phone!"

"What about America and Canada? We can't just leave them." Japan said.

"I think it is evident that they aren't here." Germany responded, " When we find a phone we will attempt to call them got it?"

Everyone nodded in the affirmative.

"Then let's go."

* * *

**Huzzah! Longer chapter! I WILL BE THE ONE TO SURPASS GOD!**

**Nah, just kiddin'. Thank you for the reviews, and follows and favorites! It makes me so hapy to see them in my inbox everyday!**

**Later dudes.**


	6. Chapter 6

General POV

"I change my mind. This is an incredibly stupid idea."

"Shut up Prussia. Nobody asked for your input."

"Both of you be quiet! And be ready, Russia is opening the door."

England mumbled an apology to Germany and assumed position next to Prussia.

Russia broke the reinforced glass of the front door and charged forward, "VODKAAA!"

Everyone followed suit and rushed out, ready to fight. Some actually looking forward to it.

But the parking lot was empty.

"Wha...where did zey go?!" exclaimed a bewildered France, "Zey were here just a minute ago!"

"They must have run away because they couldn't handle my awesome!" yelled Prussia victoriously.

Japan put in, "Ah...actually Prussia-san, they seemed to have the upper hand. Why would they run away?"

Everyone took a moment to think on Japan's comment.

"..."

Germany broke the silence, "Look here, they forgot something."

He pointed at the thing on the ground, afraid of picking it up for fear of it being a trap.

"Well what is it?" someone asked.

"I don't know. It looks like a..."

Prussia picked it up, "Ball?"

Japan looked on in horror, "Prussia-san, please don't pick it up! You don't know what it is!"

Prussia peered at it, "But it looks harmless."

It did indeed look harmless. It was made of some sort of wicker, and looked to be very old.

England looked at him incredulously, "Even_ you_ should know better than that."

Russia suddenly dashed toward at Prussia, took the ball and threw it as far away as he could. The thing sailed through the air, and exploded with a huge BOOM! before it hit the ground.

Russia panted,"England is correct da? Little ball was belching green gas while you weren't looking."

France glared at him, "You could have mangled my tres beau face!"

Everyone else glared at Prussia in a similar manner until he looked at the ground sheepishly and mumbled an apology.

Japan spoke up, "Perhaps we should go to the gas station for a phone since there seems to be no further peril?"

Germany looked across the street toward the said gas station, "Vell...everyone stay on your guard and stick together. We don't want anyone disappearing or anything. Don't touch any suspicious items." He looked pointedly at Prussia when he said that last part.

* * *

**Yes, this chapter is even _shorter _than usual. But I'm supposed to be doing homework so... yeah. Might add another chapter today...possibly...maybe...hopefully...**

**I'm worried there might be OOCness in this story. But even if there is, I have no intention of remedying it because this is how I view the characters.**

**Thanks for the support so far! I really thought this story would end up in some forgotten corner of fanfiction.**


	7. Chapter 7

The place looked even worse from up close.

They had just crossed the wide street and were approaching the gas station.

"Do you think those gas pumps even _work_?" England asked as they got closer.

"Who cares? The cars are completely destroyed anyway." Prussia responded.

Japan was walking next to them, "We can only hope the phone is in better condition."

"If there even is one." Russia mumbled under his breath from behind.

England jumped at the sound of his voice, "GAH!"

They stopped and Russia cocked his head, "What's wrong England?"

"N-Nothing..." England stammered.

The two caught up with the rest of the group. The building was now looming over them. The windows were boarded up and the door -or what was left of it- was swinging on its hinges in the wind.

"Ah! What is that tres terrible stench?" France exclaimed.

"It's smells worse than England's cooking..."

England's head spun, "Who said that?!" he said angrily.

Germany was tired of this, "Cease your bickering! Japan, ready your sword and watch my back. England, you stay out here and watch for hostile forces."

Japan did as Germany said and England stationed himself outside the door. Germany cautiously walked in, gun at the ready, followed by a small procession of nations.

* * *

It was dark. Light was barely filtering in through the windows. The place looked completely trashed, giving it an ominous look. Old papers littered the floor. The shelves were broken down with the moldy remains of packaged food on them. A really old coke machine stood in the corner. The paint was faded and it had a large dent in it like someone had hit it _really_ hard. There was an old cash register behind a counter that looked like it hadn't been touched in decades.

Prussia peered over the counter, "Hey guys, I think I found the source of that smell."

Everyone followed his gaze, and saw the gruesome remains of what was probably a dog. The skeleton had rotted meat chunks on it, and the skull, or what the think was the skull, was shattered. It had flies buzzing around it and maggots all over it. It had an old collar around it's neck, with a rusted name-tag on it that had the name _Bruiser_ on it.

France looked sick, "Mon Dieu!"

Russia just stared at it, with the usual 'innocent' smile on his face and said, "There is a basement under the corpse."

Germany took note of that and quickly looked away. He saw an old landline phone on the adjacent wall.

He was about to pick it up and dial when Japan stopped him, "This building has no power, Germany-san. We can't even _attempt_ at using the phone until it does."

Germany looked back down at the phone he was holding a little sheepishly, "Oh right, sorry." He turned to face the others, who had now gotten over the initial shock of the dog corpse, "Prussia, go around to the back of the building with Japan. See if you can find a breaker box and get power to this place."

Japan made a small bow, "Hai, Germany-san."

Prussia just grinned, "Alright West!"

The two went out the back out the front door, passing England who didn't notice them. He was staring intently at a dust devil out in the distance for some reason.

Prussia leaned toward Japan and whispered, "Just leave him be, you know how weird he gets."

Japan nodded in the affirmative as they turned the corner, presumably to the breaker box.

* * *

Germany, Russia & France POV:

France watched them leave, "Well, now what?"

Germany glanced over at Russia, who seemed to be investigating the big dent in the soda machine.

Germany looked back and said, "Now we will investigate here. We still have to find America and Canada, and the storage room down in that basement might yield some information."

France nodded, "Oui, but I am not touching zat thing on top of it."

Germany sighed.

* * *

Prussia and Japan POV:

Prussia recoiled, "Disgusting! Who used this toilet, an American trucker?!"

Japan looked at him, "I do not believe this pertains to our task..."

"Oh, we'll find the breaker box, don't you worry." Prussia said as he quickly shut the door to the bathroom.

Japan sighed, "I'm still not sure how to get it working again. I don't have much experience with such things."

Prussia just laughed, "Kesekesekese! I'll fix it with my awesome of course!"

They continued, scanning the walls for the little grey box that just might save them. They hadn't realized how wide the building was.

"Ah! I found it!" Japan suddenly exclaimed.

Prussia practically jumped for joy, "Great, now lets fix it and get out of this dried up hell hole!"

They opened up what they thought was the answer to their prayers, only to be extremely disappointed.

Prussia thought for a moment, "Hmmm...Do you think bird nests can conduct electricity?"

Japan stared at him, "You aren't really considering such a thing are you, Prussia-san?"

"Well..."

Japan stopped him, "Never mind. I do not wish to know."

* * *

Germany and France POV:

"Uhg, it is all over my hands!" France lamented as they descended the small set of stairs, leading to a small room with cinderblock walls and old boxes.

Germany sighed yet again, "Just go search that side, you can wash it off later."

France went in the direction suggested, mumbling about bacteria and such. Germany turned his back on the frenchman and surveyed his side of the room. The boxes were stacked haphazardly dust and cobwebs all over the place. He began to move boxes around, dusting them off and opening them, finding nothing of note, until something caught his eye.

It was another one of those marbles, this one blue in color. Germany pocketed it, careful not to jolt it too much after seeing what they could do. He would give it to England later.

Meanwhile, France was also searching. But he was not nearly as efficient. He was still upset over the state of his hands. They were sticky and the dust from the boxes was clinging to them. He was about to say as much when something stopped him.

It was a big pile of chains, in a corner. Not the normal kind though. These, upon closer inspection had symbols on them, giving off a feint glow they were made of a metal that France had never seen before. He noticed that they had flecks of blood on them. A nation's blood.

"Germany..."

Germany looked up from a box he was searching, "Yes? Did you find something?"

France nodded, "Yes, come take a look."

Germany walked over and studied the chains, "We must notify the others."

France couldn't agree more.

* * *

**I think I'm getting better at this. It's becoming easier to write.:D**

**Hope your liking it so far, thank you so much for the support!**

**Until next time! ^J^**


	8. Chapter 8

Prussia and Japan POV:

"Germany is not going to be happy." Japan sighed.

Prussia responded, "Yes, but he'll get over it. We will just have to find another way out."

They walked in silence for a bit. They turned the corner and found England, still at his post, still studying the dust-devils that arose occasionally in the distance. The two watched him for a minute.

Japan leaned a bit toward Prussia, "Prussia-san, should we wake him up now?"

Prussia shook his head, "Nah, we'll just get him on our way out."

* * *

General POV:

They walked inside the gas station, just in time to see France run out of the basement. He tried to catch his breath, "Mon Dieu...you two will never believe what we found!"

Germany emerged from the basement next, holding chains, "I believe we have a clue as to the North American Brothers' whereabouts."

Russia came out of the back room, glanced at the dented soda machine and said, "I will also share something Da?"

Germany called everyone to attention, "Alright, now lets start with Japan and Prussia. What do you two have to report?"

Japan glanced at Prussia, who nodded and spoke, "We aren't getting any electricity here. The breaker box was completely shot, or rather it would be, if it had any circuits to begin with."

Germany stared at them, "You mean to say that it was completely empty? As in just a box?"

Japan nodded, "Hai, we're sorry Germany-san."

Germany looked a bit upset at this turn of events. He shook himself out of it and turned to Russia, "You said you found something?"

Russia nodded, "I found Amerika's gun in the storage room. I also noticed that the soda machine on the wall is made of steel. It requires something of immense strength to put a dent like that in it."

France looked at him, "So...what does it mean?"

Russia looked a bit annoyed, "The only one I know of who could do that is Amerika."

"Do you think America was here Russia-san?" Japan inquired.

"Yes, and you all agree Da?" Russia promptly responded.

Germany spoke up, "I believe he might be on to something. France and I found these strange chains. They have a nation's blood on him. We think he was kidnapped and held here temporarily."

Prussia had a dubious expression on his face, "Who could ever manage to subdue that guy? I've tried, it's impossible!"

Germany started walking toward the door, "That aside, we can assume that he is not here and is most likely in trouble. The same goes for Canada though we have seen no sign of him."

Prussia started to follow, "So what now?"

Germany put forth an idea, "Does anyone remember on the way here how we passed through an abandoned town?"

Japan nodded in the affirmative, "Hai, but I don't recall where it was..."

Prussia perked up, "I do! It's a few miles north of here, near the entrance to that canyon that I pointed out to you!"

"Then you will lead us, Da?"

* * *

Everyone exited the gas station, with Prussia in the lead. He turned around to face everyone, "Alright! Like I said before, it was north of here." He pointed down the road.

Germany spoke, "It's getting rather late, everyone be on your guard. Have your weapons available to you and-"

Japan interrupted, "I'm sorry Germany-san, but we have forgotten about England."

France raised his hand, "Ah, oui-but where is he?"

Everyone looked around, England was no longer at his post. His spell book was on the ground.

Prussia looked at the spot that he last saw England, "Do you think he was...captured?"

Germany seemed to be thinking, "It's possible..."

France suddenly pointed, "Zere! Anglettere is zere!"

Everyone followed the direction he was pointing and saw an unmistakable green uniform in the moonlight, far in the distance, past the back of the gas station. He was running towards a dust devil, waving his arms and yelling something at it.

Russia watched him a bit confused, "What is he doing?"

Prussia cocked his head, "He is waving his arms at a dust cloud..."

"...and making an utter fool of himself." Germany finished.

"Ah!" Japan exclaimed, "America-san told me about these dust devils. They are very dangerous!"

France looked dubious, "How so? It looks harmless."

Japan hastily shook his head, "No, they have enough force to pick up a grown man and throw them around like a dish cloth!"

Russia started jogging in England's direction, "Then we should stop him, Da?"

Everyone agreed and started to follow Russia across the sand, the wind picking up as they went.

Germany glanced behind him, "There is another one! Run faster!"

The second one was going in the same direction as the first, but this one was coming up behind them really fast. Everyone got out of the way in time to have it pass them without a scratch, but it was coming up from behind Russia, who was ahead of the group.

"Russia look out!" Japan yelled.

Said Russian dived to the side just in time to have the thing pass him by.

Russia got up, "Kolkolkol...England better have a good reason for running off, Da?"

Prussia started to run again, "For once, I agree. This entire situation is just not awesome."

They were now within earshot of England, who was yelling at a dust devil, "Hey you! Stop for a moment, I need to ask you some questions!"

Japan stopped and stared at the english nation, as did Germany. Russia also stopped with his 'innocent' smile, preparing his pipe for a beating.

France just gave an exasperated sigh and called out, "Anglettere! Come back that is dangerous!"

"Now is not the time for you to be batshit England!" Prussia yelled.

England shot a glare over his shoulder and continued to pursue the dust devil, "Please! It will only take a minute of your time!"

Germany was about to try and stop him by force, but something unexpected happened.

The dust devil stopped in it's tracks, seemed to hover for a moment out of indecision, and dissipated. This caused a really large dust cloud to hinder the nations' vision for a moment. But the dust cleared with a sudden gust of wind to reveal a person, dressed like those strange people, but much less malicious looking. He had a kindly smile on his face and a feathered headdress. He glowed with a spectral golden light. In fact, that was the only color he wore, skin and all.

This being surveyed the nations, and spoke with a voice much like wind whispering through desert, "What do you wish to know?"

* * *

**Alright, thats all for now! Kinda happy we've gotten to this part! **

**Dust Devils, for those who don't know, are like mini tornados made of sand. They all travel in one direction (West to East or East to West, I don't remember). I have seen vehicles get run off the road for them, and have passed cars that have gotten flipped over by rather strong ones. They look plenty harmless, but they really aren't. I live in the desert, so it's nothing new to me. **

**Thank you for reading and all the favorites, follows and reviews! **

**'Til next time! ^J^**


	9. Chapter 9

Everyone stared at the entity completely dumbfounded, except for England of course who rose his hand, "Hello Mr. ah...what do they call you?"

The entity looked down at England, still smiling and said, "They call me...Teki."

England nodded, "Thank you Teki."

Germany has gotten over his shock now, "Excuse me, we saw these people...they were dressed similarly to yourself but..."

"They were more malicious looking?" Teki finished.

Germany nadded "Ja."

Teki sighed, "My people call them the Nagloshki. In your language that would be...witch."

Japan rose is hand, "Teki-san, what is the name of your people?"

Teki thought for a moment, "Well... It has been so long now, that I cannot remember our name for ourselves, but I have heard today's living population call us the Anasazi."

France spoke, "These Nagloshki, as you call them, we they have taken our friends. Do you have any idea why that might be?"

Teki examined them critically, "Most likely because your friends are important..." he smiled a bit, "...very important if I do say so myself."

Prussia suddenly perked up, "Oh, England! Show him those marbles you found!"

England presented the marbles to Teki, who taken aback, "These marbles... I remember these! I made them for... Oh yes, I know exactly who was taken. Those two are _extremely_ important, especially here. You must find them. Don't let the Nagloshki succeed. The consequences will be dire."

Russia spoke, "What are these 'consequences' you speak of?"

"The-ah!" Taki seemed to be blowing away like sand, "Someone is- ah-trying to silence me! Go now! To the ca-!" He disintegrated, his voice being carried off by the wind.

Nobody spoke for a moment, until France uncharacteristically stomped the ground in outrage kicking up sand in the process, "Non! Tu n'as pas repondu toutes nos questions!"

Prussia tried to calm him down, "France, calm down! It's not his fault! You heard what he said, someone was interfering with him!"

France stopped, "But I want to find mon petit mattieu! 'e could be hurt!"

England, who had been watching this short episode, unsure of what to do, spoke up, "Come now France. I'm worried about them too but I'm not going utterly mad over it."

Prussia, in an attempt to make his fellow BTT member feel better, whispered in France's ear, "No, he already _is_ utterly mad."

This improved France's mood greatly, like someone had flipped a switch inside of him, "Ohonohonohon, he _is_ ze black sheep of Europe after all."

"I heard that git." England growled darkly.

Now both Prussia and France were laughing, they started to point at him all the while chanting, "Black Sheep of Europe! Black Sheep of Europe!~"

Russia stood to the side and watched with a smile on his face as usual, and Japan was sensing the mood and refraining from speaking like he always did.

Germany took control of the situation before a fight broke out, "ALL OF YOU SHUT UP! Do you not realize we are about two miles from the main road, in the middle of the desert at _night_?! Let alone how far we have to go to get to that town that is, I remind you _abandoned_?!"

This sobered everyones' mood greatly. It was suddenly completely silent. Nothing could be heard except Germany breathing heavily from ranting without a break.

Germany looked around, "Now, Prussia you will lead the way to that town as we originally planned. If you intend to speak to each other, do so quietly and without disturbing others. Ready your weapons because the desert is _very_ dangerous at night, and we don't know what we might encounter."

"Party pooper..." Prussia grumbled.

* * *

The trip to the main road was conducted mostly in silence. Prussia was leading the group, long sword over his shoulder. Japan was following, hand on the sheath that held his katana. This was followed by Germany, his gun still in it's holster but the safety was off. Russia was off to the side, holding his pipe close to him. France and England were walking next to each other, albeit giving each other space. France had a dagger concealed in his belt, and England had his spell book under one arm, that he had gotten back from Germany, who had the foresight to pick it up.

They were about a mile a way from the road when England stopped them, "Wait!"

Everyone froze and Germany looked over his shoulder, "What is it?"

England didn't respond, but he ran past Germany and stopped just in front of Prussia, "Step back, _very_ slowly."

The urgency in England's voice made Prussia comply. England then knelt on the ground, pulled out his wand, and drew a large X over certain spot in the sand. This caused the ground to light up in the shape of a large circle with strange symbols bordering it. At first it was glowing blood red, but then the X that England had drawn flashed gold and the entire thing went matched it's color and disappeared.

Japan looked at the ground where the circle was before, "What was that?"

"It was a trap." England answered tersely.

The group continued on their way, not stopping until they finally reached the road. There, Prussia made a sharp left and they continued on in the same manner.

It was twilight now, and they could see structures about a mile in the distance near a canyon wall that had appeared to their right about an hour before. The sight lifted the nations' spirits.

"Oh, finally!" France exclaimed.

Germany shook his head, "We're not there yet."

Everyone froze at the sound of an unearthly howling in the distance. It sent chills down their spins, and into their very souls.

Prussia looked shaken, "West, I think you jinxed us."

Japan drew his sword, "Prussia-san, I'm sorry but that is a ridiculous idea."

Russia readied his pipe, "Whatever it is, I will hit it with my pipe, Da?"

France drew his dagger and England opened his spell book. Germany unholstered his gun, "I believe I may have found the origin of that howling."

The howling was coming from these...creatures. They were looked more like coyotes than they did wolves, but they were huge and their fur was a liquid black, with wisps coming off of them, as if they were made of shadow. Their eyes burned a dark purple. They were advancing on the nations, snarling and snapping at them.

Japan eyed them warily, "There are to many of them. They've surrounded us Germany-san."

Germany couldn't answer, for one of the things pounced at him. He shot it down before it could reach him. This seemed to rile up the creatures. They all attacked the nations, but the nations were ready for them.

Two attacked Russia. He easily defeated one as it pounced on him by slamming it in the temple with his pipe. The other one, poor thing, didn't have a chance as Russia was now sitting on it and hitting it with his pipe, "You will learn manners, Da?"

Japan had injured an unusually big one with his katana, they were now circling each other waiting for the other's next move. In the end, Japan defeated it when it made a mistake and tried a cheap feint. Japan shook his head, "How regrettable."

Prussia busied himself with trying to decapitate the two facing him, for one had scratched him. Nobody did that to Prussia and got out unscathed. The things were actually starting to shy away from him at the sight of the big and heavy long sword he was using. "You cannot withstand my awesome!" He crowed victoriously as he neatly beheaded one of them.

France came up behind one and killed it with his dagger. It went down with a long mournful howl. France laughed, "Ohonohonohon!~ You should have watched your back!"

England's spell book was open and his wand was out. Flashes of light lit up the night as he downed them left and right. To him victory was assured but little did he know, one was creeping up behind him, ready to latch on to him. England paid no attention and continued to kill the things with lightning bolts of assorted colors and random latin phrases such as, "Forazare!" and "Fuego!" The one behind him pounced, causing England to fall over and drop his wand and spell book out of reach. The creature was holding him down now despite England's squirming, inches away from England's face. England stopped squirming as he looked into it's dark purple eyes, where he saw murderous intent. He thought to himself, 'This is it isn't it? My immortality won't mean anything here will it?' England snarled at the thing, "I know what your thinking. Just do it!"

France looked over toward England from where he was. To France's horror, England was pinned down under one of the creatures. France rushed over to them. Neither noticed him, and France liked it that way. He plunged his knife deep into the things neck. It stiffened and fell over. England looked up at France, who helped him up. England picked up his wand and spell book, looked at France, looked at the ground again and mumbled, "Thank you...Frog."

"It couldn't have killed you anyway you know." France reminded the English nation.

England gave a slight nod of his head, "Yes, I know..."

The two seemed to remember that they were in a battlefield. They looked around though, and saw that nobody was fighting. They had killed them all.

Prussia lifted his sword into the air, "Yeah! I'm just _that_ awesome!"

Everyone looked relieved. Germany looked north, "We are almost to the town. Lets keep moving. There, we will rest."

All the nations agreed and kept moving. Only England looked back, he saw the bodies of the creatures melting into the ground.

* * *

Needless to say, when the haggard nations got into town, they went to the nearest building, got as comfortable as they could, and slept for the rest of the night.

* * *

**Huzzah! Another chapter! I'm really liking how this is turning out and hope the same can be said for you!**

**Thank you for all the reviews and such! Love to see them, it gives me a reason to open my email!**

**Later Dudes! ^J^**


	10. Chapter 10

Prussia woke up first, like he usually did. Blame several hundred years of military upbringing. He surveyed the room. The other nations were in assorted positions of sleep. Russia was holding his pipe like a teddy bear. Prussia looked at him, "If only he was always that cuddly and innocent looking..." he thought to himself.

Nobody had gotten a good look at the building they decided to crash in. Now, that he actually paid attention, Prussia noticed that they were in what appeared to be an old barber shop. The barber chairs were in varying states of decay, and the mirrors were either broken or gone entirely. There were old scissors and papers on the ground, and a broken door leading to a broom closet in the back. Prussia looked out toward the wide shop window, to be both surprised and confused.

It was still nighttime. Prussia, hoping he was mistaken, ran to get a closer look. He could see the silhouettes of old dilapidated buildings and tall saguaros in the distance.

Prussia turned his back on the window to see everyone else stirring from their sleep. England was the first to form a coherent sentence.

He roused himself and looked outside, "Oh, it's still nighttime, back to bed for me..." he said with a yawn. He then proceeded to collapse back onto the floor, using his spell book as a pillow.

Germany, who had fully woken up by now, looked down at England. "Nein! You have had enough sleep!"

England didn't seem to hear him and continued to snore contentedly.

France, who was leaning against a wall laughed, "Ohonohonohon, someone's cranky in the morning!~"

Japan was straightening his uniform in one of the intact mirrors. Germany turned to him, "Japan, would you please wake England up?"

Japan froze. His countenance turned to one of displeasure as he seemed to relive an awful memory, and then he shuddered. Japan faced Germany, and with an apologetic tone, shook his head, "I'm sorry Germany, but I would not wish that task upon my worst enemy."

Russia, was awake by now and simply watching the scene play out. Germany sighed, "Russia, could you please wake up England?"

Russia had an expression on his face like a child at christmas, "Da! I will wake up England!" He approached England quietly and raised his pipe high over his head.

Germany figured out what he intended to do, "Erm-Russia? Could you wake him up without giving him mental or physical trauma?"

Russia stopped and tilted his head, "Hmmm...I've never tried that before. How does one do that?"

France got up and waltzed toward England, "Well in this-ah...special case, you do this!"

He came up close to England's ear and yelled, "VOLDEMORT'S COMING AND IS USING MUSE FOR HIS BACKGROUND MUSIC BUT THEY'RE ALL USING BAGPIPES!"

England's eyes snapped open and was up in a moment. France meanwhile, has been demoted to the floor. England looked a _tiny_ bit crazed, "Blasphemer!"

France clutched his chest dramatically, "Oh, Anglettere! You wound me so!"

England calmed down, "Oh, get up. We haven't got all day."

Russia looked at the duo and smiled, "I will wake England up that way, Da?"

Japan shook his head, "Do I want to know how you figured that one out?" he asked quietly to France.

France turned his head a little toward Japan and shook his head, "Non, you do not."

Germany called everyone to attention, "Come! We are wasting daylight! We must find those two troublesome brothers before something bad happens.

Prussia, who had been uncharacteristically silent during this small episode, shook his head, "That's the thing, West. There _is_ no daylight to waste!"

Germany stared at his brother uncomprehendingly, "What?"

France looked equally confused, "Euh...What?"

England snorted, "That was quite an articulate and well thought out response, France. Just might be the smartest thing you've said all day!"

Germany silenced England's sniggering with a quelling look, and turned to face Prussia again, "What do you mean, 'no daylight to waste?'

Russia gestured outside with his pipe, "He means that the sun is not out, Da?"

Any nations who had not noticed before, noticed it now. Their faces ranged from confused to stupefied to 'oh crap I could be sleeping right now.'

Japan glanced at the watch he had on, "According to my time, it should be 8:00 in the morning..."

France shook his head, "Are you sure that your montre is not telling you 8:00 at night?"

Japan nodded, "I am sure, it's digital."

Germany called everyone to attention again, "Well sun or no sun , we still have to find America and Canada. Or have you all forgotten? Now, we are all going to search the place in teams-"

Prussia snickered and whispered to France, "Like we've been doing this entire time..."

"Ohonohonhohon..."

Germany looked really annoyed, "Kindly shut up bruder and _friend_?"

The tone in which Germany said that made Prussia do just that.

Germany continued, "As as was saying, we will search the place in teams. Prussia and France will search the opposite side of the street, while Russia and England will investigate the entrance to the canyon that was noted earlier. Japan, you're with me. We will remain on this side of the street and look around.

* * *

**Yet another chapter, courtesy of moi! **

**Thanks for all the favorites, follows, and reviews! Love to see them!**

**Thanks for reading, and Peace Out. ^J^**


	11. Chapter 11

Prussia and France POV:

The two nations approached the opposite end of the street. The lack of sun made the building look all the more ominous, looming up over them like giant monsters ready to swallow them whole.

Prussia looked around, sensing the apprehension in the air, and did his utmost best to thwart such a brooding atmosphere, "Kesekesekese. Not much of a town is it? It's like two or three blocks long!"

France nodded, "Oui, I've seen _villages_ that were bigger."

They walked up to the first building closest to the main road. It looked to be about 1950's era. France surveyed it, "Hmmm..."

Prussia looked at him, "What is it?"

France turned to him, "Considering how old this building is, do you think it is safe to search the second story?" he asked gesturing to it.

Prussia shook his head, "Not really but..." he looked up at the building, "I don't want to face West if we miss something."

France nudged his friend, "Ah, do not want to disappoint you little brother do we?"

Prussia didn't answer. He stepped onto the cracked sidewalk and went for the door, only to find it locked. Prussia jiggled the doorknob, and the thing crumbled under his hand. He stepped back, "Uh...are door knobs supposed to do that?"

France joined him, "Last I checked...no." He pushed the door open, "But at least it is no longer locked."

* * *

Russia and England POV:

The canyon was _much_ bigger up close. It towered several stories over them. England scowled up at it, "How does one _investigate_ something of this size?"

Russia thought for a moment, "Well...Aren't we supposed to get closer to it? And possibly look for anything of note?"

England had a snappy comeback ready, "Well-" he broke off as he noticed Russia's aura flaring up, "...I completely agree. Quite the head on your shoulders eh, Russia?"

Russia smiled, "And you would like to _keep_ your head on your shoulders, Da?"

England shuddered.

* * *

Germany and Japan POV:

Germany watched the last group leave, and turned to Japan, "Ah. It is quieter now don't you agree?"

Japan nodded politely, "Hai, Germany-san."

Germany looked around, "I don't believe that there is much to see in this barber shop. So lets go to the next building."

Japan nodded yet again and repeated the same phrase, "Hai, Germany-san"

Germany looked at him for a minute and thought to himself, '_Is that all he ever says?...No wait, most of_ _the time he says no_.'

* * *

Prussia and France POV:

It didn't take them long to find something.

"France! I have found it! The key to all our problems!" Prussia exclaimed.

France perked up at hearing this, his head whirring toward Prussia, "Oh, thank god! I am tired of this grunt work!"

Prussia smirked, holding something behind his back, "I have found..."

France leaned forward in anticipation, "Oui?"

Prussia revealed his prize, "THE BEER!"

But nobody ever said anything about it being important.

France deflated, "Honestly Prussia? Wine is much better than beer. Have you been actively searching for alcohol zis whole time?"

Prussia shook his head, "Nein, I'm just lucky that way! Kesekesekese!"

France mumbled to himself, "Being dissolved does not make one lucky."

Prussia stopped laughing and narrowed his eyes, "What was that?"

France raised his hands in a pacifying gesture, "Oh, nothing of importance." He looked around desperately to change the subject, "Hey! Did you see that poster?"

Prussia immediately forgot France's earlier comment, "No...hey that could be a clue!"

"Eh?..." France looked closer at it and then it dawned on him, "Oui, I think it is!"

Prussia looked excited, "Lets show this to everyone! This is the last building anyway."

* * *

Russia and England POV:

England was kneeling down on the left right side of the canyon entrance, looking for anything relevant. Meanwhile, Russia was at the opposite side, scanning the wall for anything out of the ordinary. This continued for a while.

Russia's eyes stopped, "Oh? What is this?"

England glanced over, "Did you find something?"

Russia got closer to a specific spot on the wall, "Da, but I do not know what it means."

The english nation got up and dusted himself off. He walked over and followed Russia's gaze, "Hmmm. I don't know what it says either, but I have something that may help."

They both stood there for a moment in awkward silence. Russia looked at England pointedly, "Well?"

England looked confused, "What?"

"Aren't you going to do it?" Russia asked.

"Wha- oh, yes! I can only do it once so we have to wait for the others." England responded.

Russia plopped down against the canyon wall, "Then we will wait, Da?"

England also sat down, giving Russia some distance, "Indeed."

* * *

Germany and Japan POV:

They thoroughly searched yet another building. Germany pulled his head out of a cupboard and threw his hands up in frustration, "Nothing! Absolutely nothing!"

Japan paused in his task of rifling through a chest, and tried to appease the Germanic nation, "Please Germany-san, we only have one more building house after this."

Germany sighed, "Ja. While you are finishing up there, I will check that pantry in the kitchen. After that, we will move on."

Japan nodded, "Hai, Germany-san." and continued to search the chest.

Germany turned toward the doorway, and walked into the kitchen. They had already searched the drawers; They turned out to be completely bare. The refrigerator had food in it, but it probably hasn't had power for years, so it wasn't the safest looking food in the world.

Germany turned around to see the pantry, but something was off about it. The door was a crack opened, and Germany didn't notice that when he first came in. Germany _never_ misses anything. He approaches the door, his gun at the ready. He opens the door really fast, "Aha!" He waited for a moment, and sighed. He put his gun away. There was nothing in there except an old doll. But what the doll was doing in the pantry, he'll never know.

Japan joined Germany in the kitchen, "I heard you yell. Did you find something Germany-san?"

Germany shook his head, "No, just this old doll."

Japan observed the doll in question, "I usually don't say this about inanimate objects but...that doll is really creepy."

Germany cocked his head, "How so?"

Japan continued, "It has a sense of foreboding to it. Or maybe as if something bad has happened."

Germany looked a bit apprehensive, "What if it's an Artifa-"

Japan cut him off, "If it is, it does not concern either of us anymore. We will leave that to _them_."

Germany stepped away from the doll, afraid to touch it, "Alright. Lets move on to the next house."

They left that house and were about to move onto the next one, when they both stopped. Germany leaned a bit toward Japan, "Why is that house shimmering?"

Japan looked relieved, "It was probably a trap in the form of a desert mirage of sorts. Let's be glad we caught on in time."

"Well, lets not act like we're out-right avoiding it, but we should go around it as if oblivious to it." Germany said.

Japan kept moving, as nonchalantly as he could, "Hai, Germany-san."

Germany tried to stifle a laugh as he followed Japan. Japan was _never_ nonchalant, so he just looked ridiculous.

* * *

**Done with yet another chapter! Will probably update today, for I have all the time in the world! Hooray for that.**

**Thank you for all the support so far, great to see it! Would like it if you review, although there's no obligation (but you probably already know that).**

**Later dudes! ^J^**


	12. Chapter 12

**Congratulations to the one who got the Warehouse 13 reference from the last chapter!**

* * *

Everyone managed to find their way to the canyon entrance in the dark. One could practically see the relief painted on England's face when they got there. He didn't know how much longer he could take being alone with Russia, especially at night.

Germany stood at the head of the group, facing everyone, "Now! Since we have all had enough time to search this area thoroughly, we will share what we have found." He gestured to France and Prussia, "What have you two discovered?"

Prussia stepped forward proudly, "We have found...this!" He held up the poster they had found. There was a collective gasp.

Japan peered at the print, "What does it mean?"

France looked smug, "Isn't it obvious? It's a wanted poster of one of the Anasazi dating back to 1950! This man was wanted on charges of kidnapping and murder."

Germany was ready to dismiss the poster, "But America and Canada have been kidnapped _now_. Not 1950."

Prussia looked at his brother and shook his head, "Oh my naive little bruder, you do not understand!" he addressed everyone now, "But what if this has all happened before? According to this poster, it has. If you see here, the victims are two young boys that look alot like Canada and America."

England looked at the kidnapped victim's pictures, "It's not them. America's missing his nantucket and the time frame isn't right.

France looked at England scathingly,"Anglettere, must you always rain on everyone's parade? Please keep in mind zat while we are in the desert, you should save your water for something more useful." he turned back to Germany, "It _iz_ possible."

Germany finally consented, "I suppose you have a point. But England, what have you and Russia found?"

England pointed to a certain spot on the canyon wall, "It's really feint, but you can make out writing on the wall."

Russia continued, "Da, But we cannot read it. England said that he had something that could help." Russia added privately to England, "I hope you were telling the truth for your sake, or else I will make it hurt, Da?"

England almost lost his composure, he whispered back to Russia, "Why would I be lying about something like that?" England spoke aloud now, "Yes. I can translate this passage, just give me a moment."

Everyone watched in fascination as England whipped out his wand and waved it over the wall, whispering the word 'Vetere' over and over.

England stopped and put his wand away, "It's done, you have one minute before it disappears for good."

The nations crowded around to make sense of the message. Where there were previously unknown symbols, were now familiar english letters reading, 'Beware, you are now entering The Canyon of Endless Noises.'

France read it, and cocked his head in wonder, "Why was ze canyon named zat way?"

Japan also stopped to ponder, "And why use the word 'Beware?'

The message suddenly scrambled, and became unreadable again. Germany sighed, "I suppose we will have to go in and find out."

Prussia fist pumped in the air, "Yes, Rock Climbing! I've been wanting to do that for a while!"

Germany looked at his brother, "You could have done that at home in the Bavarian Alps. The passage here looks pretty straight forward anyway."

Prussia stopped doing his little 'I'm Awesome' Dance, "But I've seen those things enough for them to be boring. Also, if you had awesome night vision like me, you'd see that the ground suddenly drops away, but the cliffs continue onward. That does _not_ imply an easy and straight forward walk."

England looked toward the canyon, "I do not see the joy in the prospect of climbing down a canyon."

Russia, for some reason, looked happy, "I think it will be fun, Da?"

Nations started to speak amongst themselves. France was about to get into a fight with England again. Japan was sensing the mood and refraining from speaking, while Prussia chatted to him happily in a one sided conversation. While Russia regarded the whole situation with that creepy innocent smile as usual. Germany watched them do this for a bit, _"How do we ever get anything done?"_ he thought to himself.

Germany was about to scold them when he heard a noise in the distance. He shushed everyone urgently, "Shut up! I hear something."

Everyone strained their ears. There was nothing for a tense moment, then they all heard it. It was the sound of a big "BOOM!" in the distance, like a huge drum. There was more silence, and then another "BOOM!", this one closer than the last. This happened two more times when the nations started to see where it was hitting. With every boom, a giant crater imprinted it self in the sand, like a big and heavy boulder was hitting the ground. Russia was the first to realize what was happening. He waved at everyone, "It is going to smash us like puny ants!"

France shook himself out of his stupor, "We must go! Hurry to the canyon!" and made a break for the canyon, closely followed by Russia.

The rest of the nations also started to run for it. The noises getting closer and more frequent. No one dared to look back, for fear of slowing down. They didn't pause until they got well into the canyon. Then France, who was ahead, suddenly stopped. He pinwheeled his arms for a moment, and stepped back managing to get his balance. The rest caught up to him. England was wheezing, trying to catch his breath, "Why did you stop? It's still coming!"

France wordlessly pointed down. England followed his finger which pointed down the cliff, "Oh. How did I not see that?"

Germany surveyed the deep abyss, "There is what looks like a small goat pass. We'll make our way down that way."

Nobody had time to argue, the thing that was chasing them was getting closer again. They started to pick their way down in turn. Germany was leading, followed by Prussia, England, Russia, Japan, in order. France was trailing along behind, being careful to step only where another has stepped before.

* * *

**Another chapter done. Took longer than I expected because I wasn't sure about what to put on the poster. But I managed. **

**Thank you for all the reviews and such. All this support shows that I'm doing an okay job. **

**Thanks for reading! ^J^**


	13. Chapter 13

The nations have gone about a mile down now. The thing that was chasing them before has long ago stopped. Germany looked up toward the cliff's edge as he inched his way along the narrow path, "Why isn't it following us anymore?"

France shrugged, "Perhaps it got tired?

Japan kicked a rock off the path, listening for the drop, "It was probably too big to gain footing on the path."

Prussia guffawed, "_Footing?_ It didn't have any feet to begin with!"

England, who had been listening the entire time suddenly pointed, "I see a light." He leaned forward to get a better look, and almost fell over the side. Russia caught him by the edge of his collar and pulled him back. England scrambled back onto the path, "T-Thanks Russia."

Russia smiled genuinely and said, "Da. Just need to help my friends."

France looked out toward the abyss, "You said zat you see light? All I see is ze dark!"

England looked bewildered, "What? It was there just a second ago!"

"You might be seeing things." Germany stated plainly.

Prussia snorted, "Like you always do."

England glared daggers at the Prussian, "Nobody asked you!"

* * *

Several hours later, they reached the base of the cliff. There, they found out why this place was called 'The Canyon of Endless Noises.' Japan listened for a moment, "I hear something."

Germany tried to discern the looming shapes in the darkness, "So do I."

France looked around, "Who wouldn't?"

"It gets louder in this direction." Russia observed.

Prussia started to feel his way toward the noise, "Well let's go then!"

England tried to restrain him, but his hand missed Prussia completely in the darkness, "Don't be so careless!"

Prussia laughed over his shoulder, his voice getting fainter, "Kesekese! Says the guy who almost fell over the edge!"

Japan began to follow, "Wherever he is going, it will be better than standing here and doing nothing. Let's just follow the left wall."

The rest began to follow, trying to catch up to Japan and Prussia. They began to pick their way through the darkness, trying not to trip over themselves. This went on for about a mile, when everyone heard a loud "THUD!" and an annoyed voice, "How dare this wall get in my awesome way!"

England stopped, "Are you sure you're not pranking us? We can't see anything."

Japan's voice could be heard ahead of the group, "No he is not pranking us England-san. I have also run into a wall."

Germany tripped over a rock, "The last thing we need right now is a dead end!" he exclaimed as he got up and dusted himself off.

Russia made his way to the wall, "Kolkolkol. This wall will move now, Da?" Everyone could a loud clanging noise as Russia began to slam into the wall with his pipe.

France tried to stop him, "Non! You could make ze entire canyon fall on top of mon tres beau face!"

As if on cue, they heard a rumbling noise. It grew louder and louder, until it hurt the nations' ears. Of course, the hurt their ears felt was nothing compared to the pain they felt as the giant boulders plowed them over. The collapse got everyone except Germany, Japan and Prussia. The rest were buried under the rock, and the exit was blocked.

One could practically hear the scowl on England's face as he resurfaced, "And what about the _rest_ of us frog?"

France's head popped out from underneath a pile of smaller rocks, "Well, it will not be as much of a tragedy if any of you had gotten pummeled to death by gigantic boulders. In fact, I think ze world would have thanked zis canyon if you had gotten completely squished Anglettere."

Chaos ensued at that comment. Russia untangled himself from the rock and approached France, "Kolkolkol..."

Japan and Germany stood to the side quite offended. Japan turned to Germany, "Should we..."

Germany cut him off, "Nein. He deserves it now."

Prussia leaned onto the wall that now stood forgotten, "Kesekese! You've done it now France!"

France started to back away, "I-I didn't mean anything by it!" He backed straight into England who had a creepy smile on his face. He was illuminated by the tip of his wand that was now held to France's face.

He whispered into France's ear, "Hehehe. That's nothing compared to what_ I_ plan to do to you now."

What happened next, only France, England and Russia know. The only things that could be seen were flashes of multicolored light. While the only thing that could be heard was a lot of screaming and maniacal laughter. This ended after five minutes. It was to dark to see how France was holding up. England acted like it never happened, while Russia went back to the wall and continued hitting it with his pipe. Prussia jumped away from the wall, for fear of facing his wrath. There was an uncomfortable silence.

Germany broke it, "Moving on. Russia, you don't need to hit the wall. Japan, please see if there is another passage leading past the wall to the right. Take England with you."

Japan stepped forward to comply while shaking his head, "Western cultures are so strange." he mumbled to himself.

England perked up, "Hm? Did you say something old chap?"

Japan shook his head, "No, I did not. Let's go England-san."

* * *

Main Group POV:

Prussia plopped down onto a boulder and looked over at where a despondent France was sitting, "Are you okay?"

France didn't look up from his lap, "I will be. Just let my wounds heal for a moment, s'il te plait."

Prussia winced, "Alright, whatever you say." Prussia got up again and made his way over to Germany, who was feeling around on the wall, "What are you doing?"

Germany replied, "This wall...it doesn't feel like it's made of stone. It feels more like a..." he rapped the barrier with his knuckles, "...like an energy field."

Russia was wandering about when he heard this, "Da. That is what I thought when I was hitting it with my pipe."

France, who has now completely healed, hesitantly joined into the conversation, "I-is it them? Is it the Anasazi?"

Prussia joyfully clapped him on the back, "Glad to see you've joined the land of the living France!"

Germany ignored Prussia, "If it is them...then Japan and England won't find a passage, and we will be trapped here."

Russia shook his head, "Nyet. I do not see them. They must have found one."

Prussia, forever a tactician, pondered this development, "Well, it could be a trap. England has been quite valuable with all this magic stuff so far, and Japan is a great fighter. Losing either of them would be quite a crippling blow."

Germany looked disturbed, "Bruder, I hate it when you make sense like that."

France looked equally disturbed, "Prussia, did you have to phrase it like that?"

Russia just smiled, "We should look for them before they get hurt, Da?"

* * *

**AAAND...another chapter done, courtesy of moi.**

**Just a side note: My mother is following my story. Kinda funny isn't it?**

**Thank you for the reviews and such. My inbox would be dreadfully bare without them.**

**Until next time mon copains! ^J^**


	14. Chapter 14

England and Japan POV:

England and Japan had indeed found a passage. Not through the wall blocking them, but through an adjacent wall instead. It was a narrow cave that seemed to curve in the direction that they had intended to go before. It was dark, like most caves, but it was also completely dry. There was no sound of droplets of water hitting rock, and the mildewy smell that usually came with the water was nonexistent. The wind occasionally whistled through the tunnel, stirring up little dust clouds and sounding like millions of whispering voices.

Japan didn't like it. The entire situation screamed ambush. But England didn't seem to be very troubled, "You do not find this atmosphere at all strange?" Japan inquired.

England thought about it, "Well...I can't say that I feel anything. Actually, it's like something is blocking me from sensing anything."

Japan tensed, his hand trailing toward the sheath of his sword, "Are you sure it was wise to go down this passage England-san?"

England shrugged noncommittally, "If we didn't go this way, then we wouldn't have made any progress whatsoever."

Japan had to agree when faced with this logic. Staying where they were wouldn't lead them to America or Canada. At thinking about the North American brothers, Japan posed another question, "How will we get out when we _do_ find them?"

England opened his mouth to answer, "When-"

He was interrupted by a terrible moaning sound up ahead in the dark corridor. Japan drew his sword slowly, the metal scraping against the sheath as he did so. England whipped out his wand and whispered, _"Alomorah" _making bright light emit from it. This illuminated the cavern in a five foot radius.

Japan privately wondered why England didn't do that in the first place, but quickly got back to the matter at hand. He readied his sword, "Show yourself!" he commanded.

There was a tense silence, punctured only by the two nations breathing and a shuffling sound in the darkness just beyond the nations' circle of light.

England angled his wand in the general direction of the noise, "You heard the man!"

The shuffling got louder as the thing came into view. The sight made the nations recoil in absolute horror. It was a person yet...not quite a person. It's limbs were slightly off in proportion, and it's clothing was hanging loosely on it's frame. It's skin was an unhealthy shade of yellow, and it's head was definitely not human by any standard. It's neck looked like it had been grafted to cracked and sun bleached ox's skull. It staggered closer, it's arm's reaching toward the nations.

England backed up a few feet and looked to Japan, who nodded. England nodded back and extinguished the light from his wand. The shuffling stopped for a moment, as if the creature wasn't sure about what to do. This went on for a few seconds, until a deafening screeching sound came from it's direction. This got louder and louder as it was evidently moving toward them again.

Japan tried to judge it's distance and swiped blindly into the darkness. He struck only air. He turned his head slightly in England's general direction and yelled over the screeching, "We need light!" England didn't answer. Japan was momentarily worried that he might have run away, but quickly dispelled the thought, _"He wouldn't do that would he?"_

Japan was answered with a green lightning bolt that went straight past his head, and toward the creature. in the momentary light, Japan could see the thing move out of the way with speed that Japan didn't think it had. The tunnel was plunged into darkness again. There was another moment of silence. Then there was another lightning bolt, this one was red. Japan noticed that the creature was getting a bit to close for comfort as it jumped out of the way again. Japan backed up a bit, "It's to fast! I can't hit it in the dark!" he yelled to England.

England heard him this time, "Get behind me! I'm going to give this bloody thing something it can't dodge!"

Japan did so and braced himself, "Hai!"

From the volume of the noise, Japan could tell that the thing was no more than five feet from them now. England's voice could be heard in the darkness, _"Ignus Arcendam!" _

The tunnel was suddenly illuminated with orange light as fire seemingly conjured up from nowhere made a big and extremely powerful whirl wind that rapidly made it's way toward the creature. Japan looked away as it was engulfed in the hot flames.

Japan looked toward England as the light from the fire died away, he didn't even look the slightest bit fazed! Japan straightened his uniform and sheathed his sword. England stashed his wand, "Let's move forward now, shall we?"

Japan could only nod as they continued. He looked down and noticed that the sand on the ground in front of them had been morphed into glass.

* * *

**Another chapter! Everybody happy dance(if you are so inclined to do so).**

**I thank you to everybody who has favorited, followed and reviewed!**

** And to my dear mother who is probably reading this: I'm not doing this for grammar. For it is not _really_ the point, so hahahaha! **

**Later dudes! ^J^**


	15. Chapter 15

General POV:

"I found a hole!" Prussia exclaimed gleefully.

Germany looked over from the pile of rocks he was investigating, "So va...oh. Tunnel. You mean you found a _tunnel_, Prussia."

Prussia looked a bit confused, "Yeah...What did you think I was pointing out, a regular hole?"

France came out from behind a gigantic boulder, "And I found another pile of chains!"

Russia, who had been glaring at the energy barrier, looked toward France, "You did?"

France nodded vigorously, "Oui! It is attached to this boulder!"

Germany gestured to Prussia as he walked toward the boulder in question, "How did they manage that?"

Russia shot the energy wall one more glare as he went toward the boulder.

France gestured wildly to the back of the boulder, "See?"

France hadn't been lying about the chains. They had strange symbols on them just like the other set. But these were anchored to the boulder with metal rings that had the ends had been imbedded into the stone by the use of a hammer. One could tell that something had slammed against the boulder repeatedly, if the huge cracks were anything to go by. The boulder also looks like it had moved a couple feet.

Germany inspected the scene, "Probably America's handiwork..."

Russia got everyone's attention, "The wall has chains too."

This set was anchored to the wall. The surrounding area was not nearly as beat-up, but there was much more blood spilled by the looks of it. What disturbed the nations most was that it looked to be the blood of their own kind.

France wrung his hands, "Oh, non non non..."

"I'm sure he's fine." Prussia consoled.

France didn't look all that convinced. He was staring at the scene laid out before them, worried about what it implied. There was a moment of silence, then Germany broke it in his usual fashion, "Back to the matter at hand. Prussia, you said that you found a tunnel?"

"Ja, the awesome me has found our way out!" Prussia exclaimed.

Russia rose his hand a bit, "You mean that you found a potential trap?"

Prussia stopped his victory dance and straightened, "Well it could be a trap, but I don't think so."

France looked at Prussia, "How so?"

Prussia shrugged, "The Anazasi must have a way to get through the canyon so they wouldn't booby trap their own exit, would they?"

Germany looked skeptical, "They probably have a way to bypass the traps..."

"I do not see England or Japan. They would not go down without a fight, so we would have heard some sort of commotion, da?" Russia pointed out.

France, now recovered, began to approach the tunnel, "Oui, I agree with Russia. we are not doing any good just standing around."

Prussia followed, "I like how you think!" he exclaimed enthusiastically.

They were followed by Russia. Germany hesitated for a moment. Was that the wind calling his name? He shook it off, "What a ridiculous idea!" Germany thought to himself.

* * *

The journey through the cave was overall silent, except for the usual things that you would expect to hear. Like the wind whistling through the tunnel or the sound of footsteps as the nations made their way through it. There was also the non-stop talking of course.

"It iz rather dark in here." France stated.

Prussia looked at him incredulously, "What did you expect? It's a _cave_."

Russia was getting annoyed, "Both of you will shut up now, da?"

"You'll give away our position!" Germany shushed.

Prussia laughed a bit to loud, "Kesekese! I think we can take those unawesome wimps any day!"

France also started to laugh, but quickly shut up. He could feel Russia staring at him. Russia repeated his statement, "You will shut up now, da?"

Germany sighed, "Bruder, please follow France's example. You should know better."

Brushed off Germany's warning, "You worry to mu-ah!" There was a resounding thud as Prussia fell.

France rushed forward to help him up, but also fell, "Ouch...Zut!"

Germany wisely decided to stop in his tracks, "What happened?"

Prussia got up and dusted himself off, "The floor suddenly became slippery! Almost like ice!"

France also got up, "Not ice," he tapped the ground with his shoe, "but glass."

Russia looked down at the ground in wonder, "How did that happen?"

Germany knelt down and closely inspected the ground, "...a _very_ hot fire."

Prussia tried to walk forward, but ended up having to hold a hand against the wall to keep balance, "Well this is rather unawesome. Not worth my time." he grumbled as he inched his way across.

France crossed the patch of glass carefully, "W-woah! It goes in a straight line for a bit so be careful."

Russia backed up, and got a running start. His feet slid smoothly along the surface of the glass, and he gracefully landed at the end without a hitch. Prussia smothered a laugh, "I give that a...an eight I think. You could have thrown a twirl in there."

Russia cocked his head, "Why would I do that?"

France snickered, "Hehe, never mind."

Germany was the last to cross. His journey was not nearly as graceful. He landed flat on his face, much to everyones amusement. Germany got up and dusted himself off, "Oh ha ha, very funny. Let's keep moving."

The group traveled in silence for the next couple of minutes, until they reached the end of the tunnel.

Prussia looked up at the stars, "Well, we made it through just fine! Don't you think so?"

France quickly caught up to him, "Oui, the fresh air makes all ze difference in ze world don't you agree?"

Germany emerged from the tunnel. He looked over his shoulder, "Russia, watch out for that overhanging rock."

Russia ducked out from under the aforementioned rock, "Where is England and Japan?"

Prussia looked around, "Well I don't know-oh, wait! I see a campfire up ahead! That must be them!" he started to jog towards the campfire. The others began to follow his lead.

As they jogged, Germany got in the lead of the group. He squinted his eyes trying to focus on the glimmering light in the distance, "Wait, I think that isn't-" He was interrupted by a hand covering his face, "Oof! Get off of me you-!"

"Shut up git! You'll give us all away!" England whispered furiously.

The others caught up to them. France looked around, "Well we found you...unfortunately. So where is Japan?"

Russia pointed with his pipe (that he had out for some reason), "He is there."

Japan was waving at them, gesturing for them to come and hide behind a boulder with him. They hurriedly joined the Japanese nation, and knelt down behind the boulder.

England quietly called for everyone's attention, "That campfire up ahead. We think that it's a group of those Anasazi blokes."

Germany looked ahead. He could only make out a few sillouettes in the distance. "Are you sure they aren't campers?" he asked skeptically.

England and Japan simultaneously nodded.

Prussia peeked out from behind the rock, "Then why aren't we just kicking their asses right now?"

"England said that he had a way for us to eavesdrop on them." Japan responded.

Russia shifted his weight, "How? We wouldn't even be able to understand them anyway."

England smirked a bit, "Nothing a little bit of magic won't fix." He pulled out his wand, and traced a rectangle onto the rock. He whispered, '_Revelare et superexaltet_.' The rectangle flashed a bright light and gave the nations a closer view of the campfire.

Anasazi men were sitting around it, laughing and chatting in a strange gibberish language. One of the men pointed at another, who leaned around behind a nearby pile of rocks. He straightened back up and shrugged. He said something else, and earned a peal of laughter from his companions.

Germany leaned close to the screen, "Can you move it around behind that pile of rocks?"

England nodded and waved his wand, '_Permoveo_.' The picture unfocused and shifted for a moment. When it focused in again, there was a collective gasp. It was the bruised form of America, chained to a boulder.

* * *

**Aaand another chapter done. I'm _really_ happy we've gotten here!**

**Thank you for all the reviews and such! I just love 'em!**

**Sayonara! ^J^**


	16. Chapter 16

America had cuts and bruises everywhere. They were healing rapidly, as they should be. But there was a woman pacing back and forth, holding a whip like weapon who kept hitting him. They seemed to be conversing, but the nations couldn't understand what they were saying.

Prussia cursed under his breath, "I wish I knew what they were saying!"

Japan looked toward England, who was intently watching the screen, "England-san, can you translate this like you did with that sign outside the canyon?"

England thought for a moment, "I think so. Hold on a moment." He took out his wand again, and waved it over the screen. He whispered, '_Vertere Eloquium_.' The screen flashed again, and coherent speech started to sound out from the screen:

_"I'll ask you again. Where is it?" The woman demanded as she hit him with the whip._

_America spat out blood, "Your cronies took it remember? I haven't seen the damn thing since you kidnapped me!"_

_The woman spun on her heel and began to pace again, the beads in her hair clicking as she walked. She held the whip in both hands, "Oh, America. Why are you being so difficult with me?"_

_America shook the chains he was shackled to, "Well, you haven't been the most hospitable host in the world."_

_The woman stopped in front of him and cracked the whip at him again. She continued pacing, "Just give up! I **will** find out."_

_America gave a small chuckle, "Hehe. I ain't ever givin' up." He was quiet for a moment and then leaned his head back against the rock, "Damn..."_

_The woman looked at him sharply, "What is it?"_

_"Between you and those voodoo guys, I sure got my hands full!" America responded._

_The woman stopped pacing yet again. She looked extremely offended by this. Instead of using the whip, she kicked him square in the stomach. She leaned down and got real close to America's face, "If you **ever** want to see your brother again, you will tell me where it is."_

_America looked straight into her face, unflinchingly. There was a moment of silence, and America spat right into her eyeball. She recoiled, "How dare you do that!" she exclaimed as she wiped the spit from her face. _

_America snorted, "Oh yeah? Well how dare **you**! Nobody threatens my brother. **Nobody**!" _

_The woman looked taken aback by his tone for a split second, but then she composed herself again, "You seem to forget who the captive is here." she said as she smacked the whip against his face again. _

_America didn't even flinch this time. Instead, he shifted and leaned toward her, "What happened to you Skiri? Last I checked, you were a perfectly good person. When did you go rotten?"_

_Skiri started to pace again, "After you and your brother **abandoned** us, relations deteriorated among the tribes. People would disappear nightly due to monsters. Neighboring tribes got into feuds and killed each other off. The rivers dried up, you will notice. I joined the witches to survive. Now, several hundred years later, you show up. You and all your immortal **friends**." She said that last word like it left a bad taste in her mouth._

_America interrupted her, "Now is the part that you tell me you're dastardly scheme right? Just a fair warning, the bad guy always loses directly after that." He grinned at her, as if oblivious to his situation._

_Skiri hit him upside the head, "You can't be that idiotic! You know what I want. I want that blue marble. With it, I can defeat my enemies. Nobody will be able to stop me and I will be **invincible**!"_

_America laughed, "Hahaha! Bitch please. You're a bit behind the times, aren't you?"_

_Skiri looked at him, "What do you mean?" she demanded._

_America pretended to act innocent, "Oh...nothing. You go ahead and try your plan, and tell me how that goes. Okay? Ya'll can give me the play-by-play by texting me. Do you need my number or do you already have it?"_

_Skiri looked really confused, "Uhhh, what? What do numbers have to do with anything?"_

_If America hadn't been chained to a boulder, he would be rolling on the ground laughing, "AHAHAHAHA! Oh god, stop I gotta pee!"_

_Skiri started to get mad, "Quit confusing me!"_

_America just kept laughing. To add insult to injury, he continued, "Lol, you don't have a cell? Get with it already! Rotflmfao!" By now, America had switched to English without realizing it._

_Skiri fumed hopelessly, "Speak normally! I demand it!"_

_America continued laughing. Skiri has had enough now. She thought for a moment, "I have a way to make you obey." she grinned evilly, "You **and** your brother. I think you know what I have in mind."_

_America stopped laughing, "You wouldn't."_

_Skiri just nodded, "I would, and I will. Morals are of no consequence to me."_

The woman walked away and Germany leaned back away from the screen, "We've seen enough I think..." He readied his gun, "...and I know where that blue marble is."

Japan looked shocked, "You do? When and how did you find it?"

Germany fished it out of his pocket and held it up, "I found it on the ground."

Prussia eyed the gun, "What are you doing?"

Russia got out his pipe, "What we are all thinking, da?"

England shut off the screen with a wave of his wand, and ran a hand through his hair, "That git has much to answer for."

France drew his dagger, "If zey lay a hand on mon petite mattieu..." he left the rest unsaid.

One by one the nations emerged from behind the boulder. Japan took the lead, finding a route along the wall that would lead them right to America without being seen by the Anasazi. The nations snuck over to him as quietly as they could. America looked up in surprise when England hit him upside the head, "America, you have some explaining to do!" England hissed at him.

America looked over England's shoulder to see everyone else, "Dudes, I'm so glad to see you're all right!" he whispered.

Japan approached America and began to cut through his shackles, "We must get you out of here. Now stay still."

America frantically signaled him to stop, "No! Not yet. I gotta find my brother and this is the only way." America pulled away. He suddenly perked up, "Iggy dude...is that what I think it is?"

England looked confused, "What?"

America gestured, "That pouch..."

Prussia snickered, "He nailed France with one of those things. Wish I'd known about them sooner! They would have made the best pranks!"

France clutched his chest dramatically, "Oh, do not remind me of that dreadful experience!"

Germany cut off France's act, "America, what's this?" he held the blue marble for him to see.

America's eyes got really wide, "Oh, crap! Get that thing away from here! Run far away and hide that where they won't find it!"

Russia cocked his head, "Why? What could such a little thing do? How is it so dangerous?"

There was a shuffling noise on the other side of the boulder. America freaked out even more, "Go now! They're about to check on me. I'll be fine."

England stayed steadfast, "We can't just leave you with them!"

America shook his head vigorously, "Don't be like that _now_!"

Germany grabbed England's shoulder, "Come now! We have no time."

England looked like he was about to protest, but common sense won. The nations got away just in time to see one of the Anasazi men walk around the corner, with a large black knife. When they got out of earshot, Prussia whistled, "Wow. That was a corny moment."

England scowled at him, and Japan stared at him in shock. How could he say that at a time like this? Russia just stared off into space, evidently deep in thought, "So..." the tall nation mused, "...what now?"

Germany looked toward the campfire in the distance, "We follow them of course. America has to stay captive to find his brother. So when he does, we will get them out."

Prussia rubbed his hands together, "I like it! The man with the plan! What do you think Japan?"

Japan flicked something off his shoulder, "It is a smart idea. I agree with Germany-san."

Russia shrugged a bit, "Why not?"

France laughed, "Ohonohon, I am good at the stalking. Zis will be a piece of cake!"

England glared at the campfire, "When I get my hands on her..."

Japan sat down, "It is decided. Now all we have to do is wait for them to make a move."

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**Done with yet another chapter! By now I'm just making it up as I go! Huzzah!**

**Thank you for all the reviews and such! They're like little balls of sunshine and happiness!**

**Later dudes. ^J^ **


	17. Chapter 17

It was about an hour before they broke camp. Of course the stars were still out and there was no sign of the emerging sun, despite the fact that, according to their watches, it was twelve o'clock in the afternoon.

Japan was the first to notice the flurry of activity by the campfire. He shook Prussia, who was dozing off, awake. Prussia nodded silently and poked France awake. Russia hadn't gone to sleep yet, neither had Germany. All that was left was England, who was sleeping soundly. France leaned down next to his ear and whispered, "Rose Tyler is having an affair with Professor Moriarty."

England punched France in the face as if on reflex, "I will not allow it!"

France rubbed his jaw, "Ah! Why would you do that Anglettere?!"

England rubbed the sleep from his eyes, "Why _wouldn't_ I do that?"

Germany shushed them with a gesture, and pointed out toward the campfire, "Watch."

England, now alert, nodded and crept up behind a boulder to get a better view. Russia did the same, "Why isn't America struggling?"

"Weren't you listening before? Zis is to find his brother." France responded.

Russia shook his head a bit, "Well, he was obviously struggling before. He could at least _pretend_. His current behavior might make them suspicious."

"I think America knows what he's doing. This can't be the first time that he was in such a situation." Japan stated.

Prussia pointed, "There's that bitch...Skiri wasn't it?"

Germany leaned forward a bit, "What is she doing?"

England followed Germany's gaze, "She's...doing a spell I think."

Russia cocked his head, "What will it do?"

England began to speak, "It seems to be a-"

He was interrupted by a rumbling sound. It was getting steadily louder, and the pebbles on the ground started to jump around. France got everyone's attention, "Brace yourself!"

Needless to say, everyone took his advice. A giant hole erupted near about halfway to the Anasazi camp. There was a strange green light emitting from it. The nations could see...things crawling out of it. Japan looked on disbelievingly, "Those look like..."

"...giant lizards." Prussia finished.

"Interesting. I've never seen a purple lizard before." Russia mused.

Germany squinted his eyes, "What are those orange markings on it? Are they glowing?"

England threw up his hands in disbelief, "You've got to be kidding me! Giant reptiles? Even better, _magical_ giant reptiles? Oh, this is just _rich_."

France looked past the lizards and toward the camp, "Wait! Where did zey go?"

The Anasazi were no longer there and the campfire had been put out. In fact, there was no evident sign that there even _was_ a campfire to begin with.

Prussia whistled, "They move fast. How will we follow them now?"

Japan drew his sword, "I think that we should take care of those lizards first. They are coming this way."

The rest of the nations drew their respective weapons. Germany frowned, "How did they notice us?"

England was flipping the pages in his spell book, "Well, we weren't being the quietest bunch in the world. It's a wonder that the Anasazi didn't notice us."

Russia began to advance on the lizards with his pipe at the ready, "I was also wondering about that."

France was in a defensive position, "Something to discuss at another time ah- Prussia watch yourself!"

Prussia brought his sword up just in time to meet a lizard who was pouncing on him. "These things have sharp talons by the way!" He called out.

Germany was wrestling with one who had a hold of his pant leg. "No-Nein, bad lizard-and sharp teeth!" he yelled.

Japan sliced one clean in half, "I have yet to see how they are magical, besides their great size." he said nonchalantly.

England, who was standing near Japan, yelped as the ground next to him burst into flames, "Ah! Well I think they breath fire." He waved his wand at the offending lizard and it exploded into sparkly dust.

Russia downed a lizard by breaking it's ribs with his pipe. He then jammed the end of his pipe into it's head, and waited until it stopped twitching. He pulled his pipe out of the corpse, "Doesn't that make them dragons?"

France expertly threw his dagger into the forehead of one, and ran forward to retrieve it, "I'd rather think of them as overgrown lizards," he dodged a fireball, "It makes them sound easier to kill."

Prussia loped the head off of an especially big one, "Amen to that!"

Japan came up behind one that was going for France, "Germany-san, do you ever run out of bullets?" he killed it with the tip of his katana.

Germany looked down at his gun and shrugged, "Not really." He shot a few in turn, "My aim could be better though..." A fire ball caught his jacket, "Gah!" He shed his jacket and poured a few rounds into another lizard.

England sent a gaseous ball of purple energy toward a group of lizards. It exploded directly over them and and they fell over dead after breathing in the poisonous cloud. England turned toward another lizard, "Come at me if you dare!" The lizard seemed to think about it, then it turned tail and fled.

France slit a lizard's throat, and did a pirouette that ended with another one stabbed in the heart, "I could do this all day!" he laughed.

Russia couldn't get a hit onto any more of the lizards. They were all running away from him. He ended up just standing there, "Kolkolkol...this is boring, and they are all cowards."

Prussia had jumped onto the back of a lizard. He was now riding it around like a horse as it tried to buck him off. As they ran around, he laughed like a maniac and killed lizard's left and right. He somehow managed to slow his steed down, "They are retreating back to their hole! Everyone catch one so that we don't have to walk!"

Germany got in front of a lizard, "That is actually a good idea." He latched onto it as it tried to run past him.

Japan followed Germany's lead, and jumped onto another one. He got it under control quickly and smiled, "It is like riding a horse!"

Russia stopped one by stepping on it's tail. It whimpered as he plopped onto it's back, "My new pet will listen to me, da?"

France came up behind one and jumped onto it, "Mine must be a woman, for it cannot shake me off!" he joyfully cried.

England waved his wand, and a lizard stopped dead in it's tracks as if frozen, "I'm not all that surprised seeing as how you're such a lecherous leech." he remarked as he walked up to his newly acquired steed and mounted it.

"Does everyone have a lizard?" Prussia called out. When everyone responded in affirmative, he laughed and gestured grandly, "Then forward we go! On to Camelot!"

* * *

**I wasn't going to do the riding lizards thing at first, but in the end I couldn't resist.**

**Thanks for all the reviews and such! Let's me know that this story doesn't suck!**

**Later dudes. ^J^ **


	18. Chapter 18

"You know," England said as they traveled, "the way to Camelot had less _sand_ and more _trees_."

Prussia shrugged, "I think that a cactus can count as a tree. Besides, what would you rather have had me say?"

France shifted on his mount, "Well, something that made sense would have been nice."

Russia was still evidently enjoying the situation, "But we are not walking, da?"

Germany nodded, "He makes a valid point."

Japan urged his lizard to go faster, "We should still probably move faster."

The others followed suit. After about an hour of silence, France spoke, "Does anyone know where we are going? I do not want to wander through a desert canyon all night."

Russia pointed up at the sky, "We have time. I think that night will last for a while longer, comrade."

England also looked up, "I am _still_ wondering how they managed that."

France looked a bit frustrated now, "None of you have answered my question! Where are we going?"

Japan looked over his shoulder over at France, "We are looking for any sign that shows where they might have gone."

France sighed, "Like what? I see nothing but canyon walls and sand! I hear only the wind and bugs scuttling about!"

Prussia watched him for a moment, "You seem a little distressed. What's wrong?"

France threw up his hands, only to have to clasp them back onto his lizard for fear of falling, "What _isn't_ wrong in this situation?"

Germany halted the group, "I hate to interrupt your heart to heart chat, but I think they went this way." He pointed to their left which proved to have a _very_ large tunnel, that went about one hundred feet, before opening up on the other side.

Russia was the first to go forward, "Then we will go this way, da?" He got within ten feet of the entrance before his lizard went wild. It started to try and buck him off. When it finally succeeded, it ran away. Russia got up and dusted himself off, extremely irritated.

The rest of the nations decided it was wise to dismount first, and then approach the tunnel. The rest of the lizards also ran away, presumably to the hole tat they first spawned from. Prussia laughed as he watched them go, "Kesekesekese! What a wimpy creature! Not worth my awesome!"

Japan looked up at the tunnel worriedly, "What could frighten anything so much, that it would risk throwing _Russia_ of all people off it's back?"

France peered at the wall by the cave, "Perhaps zat could shed some light on zis?" he pointed to the wall in question, that held a message of some sort, written in Anasazi.

Germany walked up so that he could read the message, "England. I never thought I'd say this, but...work your magic."

England drew his wand and smiled, "I get a strange sense of satisfaction whenever someone finally admits that magic is real." He walked up to the wall, and waved his wand over it, much like the last time. He whispered _"Vertere"_ over and over again.

As the words unscrambled, the rest of the nations crowded around to get a clear view of the message. It finished translating and read: ENTER TRAVELER IF YOU DARE BUT BEWARE OF THE TICKERS.

"What is a 'ticker'?" Japan wondered aloud.

"Probably something mean and antisocial." Prussia said.

"It probably hurts too." France added.

Russia pulled out his pipe, "Tickers will face the wrath of my pipe, da?" and walked into the tunnel. The rest of nations followed, albeit more hesitantly.

* * *

It was too dark to see anything at first, but England whispered, "_Lumos_." and suddenly there was enough light to see for a few feet coming from the tip of his wand.

Germany looked around warily, "I don't see any tickers."

France had his hand near his dagger, "How would you know if you did?"

Prussia pointed, "Check out the paintings all over the walls."

Russia studied them as they walked, "These paintings show some rather violent acts, da?"

England craned his neck to see the ceiling, "How did they get paintings up there? It must be at least twenty feet high!"

"We can ask America later." Japan stated. He paused, "Wait, I hear something."

Prussia drew his sword in apprehension, "Sounds like...scuttling."

"I wish I could say that it's probably just a bug but..." France started.

"Not here...not now." Russia finished as he pulled out his pipe.

"Ah! I see it! Oh wait, it's gone." Germany looked frustrated as a shadow darted just out of sight.

England had his spell book on hand, "I have an idea. Everyone gather around me!"

"Why?" asked Prussia.

"I'm going to end this before it starts." England replied.

Japan, having seen England in action up close before, complied. He encouraged the others to do the same.

The scuttling sounds increased in volume and frequency. Shadows continued darting around just beyond the light of England's wand. When everyone had regrouped, England neutralized his light spell. The world was consumed in darkness for a second, then England yelled out, "_Rotunda Scuta_!"

The cavern was illuminated by purple light as a translucent ball of energy grew from England's upraised wand. It continued to grow until it completely encircled the nations' tightly knit group in a dome shape.

France reached out to touch to wall of energy, when England suddenly exclaimed, "Don't touch that!"

France withdrew his hand like a child caught opening the lid of a cookie jar. There was a moment of silence. Germany was about to remark on the situation but he was interrupted by a loud THUMP! and a BUZZ! shortly after. The nations turned toward the source just in time to see an unmoving lump on the ground disintegrate.

Russia found this amusing, "Is that all?"

As if on cue, shapes started to form in the darkness. They started to charge toward the dome. As they came into the light, one could see that they were about two feet tall, with a loping gait. Their faces were pinched up into a permanent frown, with pinpoints of green light in their sunken eye sockets. They had wicked claws on their limbs. Every time one leaped up to attack the nations, the dome would flash and the creature would fall off and disintegrate.

Prussia was laughing really hard, "Kesekesekese! Oh god my side! Aha! They don't know when to give up!"

Japan watched the little things for a moment, "So why are they called 'tickers'?"

Germany shrugged, "I don't know. Maybe it was a mistranslation?"

England, who was evidently struggling, shook his head, "No, that spell is never wrong. Now come on, lets get moving. I can't keep this up forever!"

The nations started to move toward the exit. About three fourths of the way there, the shield started to flicker. Needless to say, France was alarmed. "Anglettere," he said, "Now iz not ze time to be joking around!"

England was shaking his wand, "No! Don't give up on me now-oh, bloody hell." The shield disappeared and the world was plunged into darkness again. Tickers could be heard. They were getting bolder now. The noises got louder.

"Guys..." Prussia started.

"...Run!" Germany finished.

Nobody needed any more prompting. They ran for it. Unfortunately, the tickers had no problem catching up. Russia was at the end of the group. He could feel a sharp pain as a ticker latched itself to his leg. As Russia tried to pry him off, the creature began to make a rapid ticking noise. Like a timed bomb. This spurred Russia to work faster. He got it off and threw it away just in time for it to explode. In the sudden light, he could see hundreds more swarming after the group. Russia ran faster, "I know why they're called tickers!"

France was ahead by a few yards. He called over his shoulder, "We figured zat one out ourselves! Hâte!"

The nations emerged from the tunnel one by one. The pursuing tickers stopped at the cavern mouth, as if something was holding them back. The tired nations regarded them warily. After about thirty seconds, the tickers began to disperse. First one, then another. Then the whole group retreated back into the tunnel. Japan merely brushed of his uniform, and stood there. Germany leaned on a nearby boulder to catch his breath. Prussia was laying in the sand getting as much rest as possible, and England was letting a wound that he got somewhere in the tunnel heal. Russia was looking down at his pant leg, rather annoyed at the rips that were in it.

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**Hooray! Another chapter is complete! **

**I got the tickers idea from a videogame called 'Gears of War.' The tickers in the game don't really look like the ones I used though. It's an awesome game if you're good with blood and gore.**

**Thanks for the reviews and such! They're much appreciated!**

**Later dudes. ^J^**


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